In the News

Sonia Sotomayor on Saturday was sworn in as the newest justice on the U.S. Supreme Court during a closed-door ceremony in the Justices' Conference Room at the Supreme Court, Roll Call reports. Sotomayor, 55, is the court's first Hispanic justice and only the third woman to join the court. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the constitutional oath to Sotomayor, whom the Senate confirmed Aug. 6 in a 68-31 vote (Stanton, Roll Call, 8/8). Roberts oversaw two ceremonies, the private ceremony and an event before Sotomayor's family and friends in the East Conference Room. For the first time, television cameras were allowed to broadcast the second ceremony, the Los Angeles Timesreports. Justice Anthony Kennedy was the only other member of the court in attendance (Savage, Los Angeles Times, 8/9).

Roberts said that Sotomayor can now "begin work as associate justice without delay." The AP/Baltimore Sun reports that the court is set to hear arguments on its first case of the session on Sept. 9. The entire court will gather the day before for a formal ceremony to welcome Sotomayor (Sherman, AP/Baltimore Sun, 8/8).

Video Round Up

N.C. Gov. To Break Campaign Promise on Abortion Bills

AP/ABC News 11's Ed Crump discusses how North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) will break his campaign pledge to not sign any abortion restrictions if he signs a 72-hour mandatory delay bill into law. Watch the video

Datapoints

See where states rank on reproductive rights across the U.S. Plus, find out how states are imposing more restrictions on and limiting women's access to abortion. Read more

At A Glance

"Not since before Roe v. Wade has a law or court decision had the potential to devastate access to reproductive health care on such a sweeping scale."

— Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, on a ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld major portions of a Texas antiabortion-rights law. Read more